The increased size of railway cars and the higher speeds at which they have been operated aggravates the wear on the bearing portion of the truck bolsters which have a hardness of about 8 to about 10 Rockwell C. Structures including a hardened liner for the bolster bowl have been proposed, but fitting the liner to the bolster and securing it in place has been a problem. Finishing the interior of the bolster bowl with a deposit of hard weld metal provides a satisfactory bond to the bolster body, but the deposited metal must be ground to provide a bearing surface; this process requires 12 to 16 hours per bolster. Moreover, the weld metal is conventionally deposited in the down hand position, a practice which requires frequent repositioning of the bolster in a vertical plane. Attempts to develop a smoother surface by depositing the weld metal against a removable form, e.g., of carbon, were unsuccessful.
There remains, therefore, a need for a method of manufacturing and reconstructing bolsters which is more easily practiced, is economically attractive and provides a bolster with a satisfactory or superior working life.